Kiev quit negotiations with Moscow: Russian official
Moscow and Kiev cut negotiations after the latter failed to provide an answer to the draft treaty proposed by Russia, Russia’s Deputy Foreign Minister Andrey Rudenko explained.
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Russia’s Deputy Foreign Minister Andrey Rudenko.
Russia’s Deputy Foreign Minister Andrey Rudenko said that negotiations between Russian and Ukrainian delegations were halted after Kiev quit the talks.
"The talks are not continuing. Ukraine quit the process of negotiations," he said in reply to a TASS question, adding that Kiev failed to provide an answer to the draft treaty that Russia had proposed.
It is worth mentioning that French President Emmanuel Macron has been mediating between Moscow and Kiev "in vain." Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky stressed that his country's authorities would never make certain concessions to Russia.
"We shouldn't look for a way out for Russia. Macron is doing it in vain… Macron's mediation between us was aimed at a certain result, but it fell short of it," Zelensky told Italian broadcaster Rai 1.
The Ukrainian president claimed that Ukraine had been offered to compromise its sovereignty to "save Putin's face". However, he said, Kiev "would never recognize Russia's ownership of Crimea" or the independence of the Lugansk and Donetsk people's republics.
Earlier, Russian President Vladimir Putin had a telephone conversation with Finland’s President Sauli Niinisto and said that Moscow-Kiev negotiations had been paused as "the Ukrainian side displayed no interest in a constructive dialogue".
Putin, speaking to his Finnish counterpart, said Helsinki's accession to NATO could have a negative impact on Russian-Finnish relations, which were built in the spirit of good neighborliness and partnership and were mutually beneficial.
The Russian president reiterated that Moscow posed no threat to Finland; therefore, abandoning the traditional policy of military neutrality on Helsinki's end would be a mistake.
Niinisto, on the other hand, told his Russian counterpart that Moscow's demands aimed at preventing countries from joining NATO and the war in Ukraine have led to alterations in the security environment in Finland.
Both Sweden and Finland jointly handed their NATO applications on Wednesday, and are expected to be granted membership quickly.
